Photo courtesy of Karl Perkins.
All Celebrations, also known as AllC, is a clothing brand that promises to deliver “100% defaced, vandalized, & recycled goods”. This promise means that every AllC garment is exclusively made from previously produced materials. These recycled goods are then stitched, sewn, and screen-printed to give them a bold, new look. Jon, a fourth year student at UCLA, is the creative genius behind AllC who designs, sources, and makes each piece.
Q: Why do you exclusively work with recycled materials? Why is this important to you?
“If we stopped producing textiles right now, we would still have more than enough clothes in the world. There is no reason to be producing any more, it’s just extremely wasteful. Denim is one of the worst things for the environment to produce, it takes about 1800 gallons of water to make one new pair of jeans… so I’m just trying to be conscious of that”
Jon gets the second-hand clothes he uses for AllC from thrift stores or, more recently, direct donations. “A lot of people in my neighborhood have found out that I like to make clothes and they’ve just been bringing me things, which is great”. While Jon’s decision to use recycled materials is motivated by environmental concerns, he also likes how it “gives everything a unique look”. Recently, Jon has noticed a greater demand for one of a kind and individualized clothing. All Celebrations meets this demand by fulfilling commissions, and using a combination of alterations and embellishments to create something distinctly new. Whether it’s jeans turned completely inside out or a button-up with the signature lips logo (see below), these pieces are unlike those available anywhere else.
Q: Do any particular people or things inspire the clothing that you make?
“Mostly the things I come up with are the result of me just walking around and looking around, I don’t really look too much at what other brands are doing. A lot of the time I’m inspired by someone that just doesn’t give a shit about clothes. Like a lot of dads, you can tell they just don’t care at all. This helps me think in a different way and push away what I usually consider fashion”
Q: Do you have anyone help you design or create clothes for AllC?
“I’m kind of a control freak so it’s really just me. I just have a lot of ideas that I feel like if I brought them up to people they would be like ‘Oh, I don’t know if I can do that’… I just don’t really want to explain myself to someone and so I like to work alone”
Q: What do you see in the future for your brand?
“One of my dreams is to have my own store in LA where the front of the store has clothing from all kinds of second hand brands, including my own, and then the back of the store would be like the Maker Space, a place where people can just come and experiment and try things out”
Although Jon has a passion for designing and making clothes now, his interest in fashion only piqued once he got to UCLA. Growing up in a small town near Sacramento, college was the first time Jon felt comfortable wearing clothes that deviated from the pervading norms of this mostly rural area. As a result, he says, “I went to college with really no personal style, but luckily looking around it was easy to get inspired”. Jon combined inspiration from his college peers with inspiration he received from his mother, who loves to sew and make clothes for herself. A little over a year ago, she taught Jon how to sew which eventually led to him making his own clothes and starting AllC.
Fast forward to his senior year, Jon continues to be inspired by the UCLA community, which AllC has effectively become a part of. “I give All Celebrations stickers to a lot of people, and a lot of these stickers I’ve seen popping up on campus. I love to walk around and see them everywhere because it makes it feel like a home to the brand”. While All Celebrations has grown considerably since it first began, Jon is looking forward to expanding it further as well as improving himself as an artist and a designer.
Check All Celebrations out on Instagram! @allc.co
